Hainan Offers Tourists Tax Rebate and Visa-Free Policy from 2011

Hainan, a beautiful island province with a fantastic tropical landscape in southern China, will offer tax rebates to foreign tourists from January 1st, 2011, announced the Ministry of Finance in Beijing.

Benefited from this policy, tourists from Macau, Hong Kong and other foreign countries will be able to get tax rebates at a rate of 11 percent of their shopping expenses before they leave the island.

There are two kinds of tax-free measures for foreign tourists: they can purchase products directly from the duty-free stores in Hainan; otherwise, they could get a rebate of the value-added tax when leaving the province.

Conditions for Tax Rebate

1. Tourists should spend at least 800 RMB on the favored goods.

2. It is only suitable for foreign tourists who have stayed in China for less than 183 consecutive days.

3. The rebate-favored goods are presently confined to daily necessities, excluding food, beverages (alcohol), fruit, cigarettes, and vehicles.

4. The rebates should be claimed within 90days after the purchase.

5. The tax-rebate items should not be consumed or used before leaving Hainan.

Hainan's Visa-Free Policy

Hainan added 5 more countries to the list of Tourists Visa-free Countries, whose citizens are pledged to tour Hainan without visas for 15 days. This new addition increases the policy-favored nations from 16 to 21 in total now.

The Visa-free Countries to Hainan include:

Amerian: the United States (US), Canada;

Oceanian: Australia, New Zealand;

European: Britain (UK), France, Germany, Russia, Italy, Netherland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Austria;

Asian: Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, Indonesia.

Notice: there are two exceptional conditions requiring foreign tourists to take a visa along with them.

If tourists want to stay on the Island for more than 15 days, they have to apply for a visa in advance; if those want to extend their tour to mainland of China, they must hold a visa before landing in mainland cities.

Customize a tour to Hainan now, to have a relaxing vacation with an enjoyable beach romance.